Method of and apparatus for touch-input computer and related display employing touch force location external to the display

A method of determination of touch location on a surface carried by an apparatus, that comprises, contacting a region of the apparatus remote from said surface against a force-sensing means having degrees of freedom and sensing sensitivity collectively to sense, in response to the thrust of touching a point of the surface, the coordinate components of a resulting thrust vector and the components of an accompanying torque vector;

• calculating from the sensed forces, a location on a line of minimum torque to provide an intersection of the surface;
• and outputting the resulting remotely sensed location as an estimate of said touching point.

A method of determination of touch location on a display surface portion of display apparatus, that comprises, contacting the display apparatus against a force-sensing platform disposed remotely from the display surface portion itself and being responsive to all six degrees of rigid motion of force and torque vectors resulting from touching said display surface portion of the display apparatus;

• sensing at the platform the forces developed by such touching of the display surface portion;
• calculating from the sensed forces a location on the display surface portion referred to which the equivalent of the sensed forces has substantially minimum torque magnitude;
• and outputting the resulting remotely sensed location as an estimate of the touching point.

A method of determination of touch location on a surface of an apparatus, that comprises, contacting the apparatus against force-sensing means disposed remotely from the surface itself and responsive to all six degrees of rigid motion of force and torque vectors resulting from touching said surface;

• sensing at the said force-sensing means the forces developed by such touching of the surface;
• calculating from the sensed forces a location on said surface referred to which the equivalent of the sensed forces has substantially minimum torque magnitude;
• and outputting the resulting remotely sensed location as an estimate of the touching point.

A touch screen sensing apparatus for a monitor provided with a display screen having, in combination, force-sensing platform means contacting the monitor at a region thereof remote from the display screen;

• the platform means being provided with sensor means in number and degrees of freedom collectively to sense, in response to the thrust of touching a point of the display screen, measurements corresponding to the coordinate components of a resulting thrust vector and the components of an accompanying torque vector;
• means for calculating from said sensed forces a location on the display screen referred to which the measured force has substantially minimum torque magnitude;
• and means for outputting the resulting remotely sensed location as an estimate of said touching point.